Unlike Ubuntu, which issues a new release every 6 months, Linux Mint does not release to a fixed schedule.

That means new releases of Linux Mint appear when they’re considered ‘ready’ — and it’s the Linux Mint devs that decide what ‘ready’ means and when ‘ready’ is.

But there is a pattern to Linux Mint releases.

Using this pattern allows us to guesstimate when a release is due.

The Linux Mint 18.3 release date is December 2017.

How do we get to that date? Linux Mint 18.2 was released in June 2017, four months after the release of Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS (on which it’s based). Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS, which the next release will be based on, was released last month. Add four months and you get a December release.

We also know that Linux Mint 18.3 is likely to be final update before Linux Mint 19, which is due (tentatively) in June 2018, based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Whenever it arrives Linux Mint 18.3 will feature, among other things, the Cinnamon 3.6 desktop, an improved back-up tool, a new login manager, and be based on Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS.